Dance music steps into fundraiser

DJ Tiesto hosts live event to benefit AIDS org (RED)

Dance music may be years away from staging its own version of Live Aid, but superstar Dutch DJ Tiesto is making some headway toward that goal this weekend, launching a series of benefit projects in honor of World AIDS Day.

Through a partnership with AIDS org (RED), Tiesto will host a live stream Saturday and Sunday from the Stereosonic Festival in Melbourne, coinciding with the worldwide release of a benefit album — “Dance (RED), Save Lives” — featuring contributions from the likes of Calvin Harris, Avicii and Diplo, as well as a rerecording of U2’s “Pride” with Tiesto and Bono.

As for his connection to the cause, Tiesto recalls a 2006 visit to Africa, during which he witnessed “people who were barely alive” due to the ravages of the disease. But in a more general sense, he also hopes the weekend’s events will help to spark a greater degree of social engagement from the often inherently hedonistic genre.

“With EDM, things can still be very amateur in a number of ways and we’re still learning,” Tiesto said. “But we have to be an example for younger DJs, that it can’t all be about partying and having fun — there’s a responsibility that comes with our success too.”